Out of the Park: Inaugural Canadian Travel Awards was a Night to Remember

By the time the first-ever Canadian Travel Awards came to a joyful conclusion last night, one thing was crystal-clear: it won’t be the last.

Over 300 of Canadian travel’s best and brightest gathered at Hotel X on Toronto’s waterfront in celebration of a vibrant, resilient industry – one unlike any other.

Presented by Travel Market Report Canada, the night honoured standout performers across industry segments including airlines, tour operators, tourist boards, hotels, destinations, cruise lines, and more. 

Close to 40 awards were handed out by the publication proudly billed as the “Voice of the Travel Advisor,” with winners selected exclusively through online voting by close to four thousand travel advisors from coast to coast. 

The notoriously close-knit and highly social travel tribe attending the event did not disappoint. 

There were shouts of laughter, countless hugs and high-volume conversations, as friendships were renewed or created. There were some tears too, as participants expressed their love and support for the people of Jamaica, a favourite Canadian destination recently ravaged by Hurricane Melissa.

An event highlight was ‘The Porter Zone,’ two tables filled by 15 travel advisors from across Canada who voted in the awards process and were randomly selected to win all-expenses paid trips to the awards gala courtesy of Porter Airlines.

The night featured an exhilarating live performance by iconic Canadian singer/songwriter Jim Cuddy and the spellbinding electric violinist Anne Lindsay. Cuddy, a founding member of beloved band Blue Rodeo, signed an acoustic guitar which was auctioned off live for $3,700, with all proceeds going to hurricane relief in Jamaica.

Multiple-award winners on the night included Air Canada, Air Canada Vacations, AmaWaterways, Celebrity Cruises, G Adventures, Hyatt Inclusive Collection, Transat and TravelBrands. 

Other notable victors included Azamara, Explora Journeys, Hx Hurtigruten, Manulife, Park’n Fly and SoftVoyage. Porter Airlines earned an important accolade from Canadian travel advisors by being chosen for Best Economy Class Service.

Tourist board winners included Visit Portugal and its dynamic one-woman band Inês Cunha Almeida Garrett, and the Jamaica Tourist Board, led by the tireless Angella Bennett and her able team. Bennett also delivered a moving speech thanking the Canadian travel industry for its support of Jamaica’s recovery efforts.  

Individuals were highlighted for their excellence as well. Wired for Travel’s Judith Coates was selected as Travel Advisor Advocate of the Year. The Travel Agent Next Door founder Flemming Friisdahl was named Travel Industry Executive of the Year and Virgin Voyages’ hard-working Sean Russo as Travel Industry Personality of the Year.

BDMs – the all-important connection between suppliers and advisors – got their turn in the spotlight as well. 

Hyatt Inclusive Collection’s Brian Joseph won for Hotel & Resort/Packaged Vacations BDM of the Year. G Adventures’ Anup ‘Nuppy’ Mistry took home the Escorted Tour/Adventure Tour BDM of the Year. WestJet’s Irene Wong was selected as Airline BDM of the Year and AmaWaterways’ Neil Dudley as Ocean Cruise/River Cruise BDM of the Year.

The night was hosted by Travel Market Report Canada Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief John Kirk along with the rest of the TMR Canada editorial team including Marsha Mowers, Bruce Parkinson and TMR Quebec Managing Editor Catherine Maisonneuve.

“We are beyond grateful for the support of the sponsors of the inaugural Canadian Travel Awards,” said Kirk. “We know there are many demands on their time and budgets, and we launched this project with a tight timeline. We are humbled to have hosted a sold-out event.”

Travel Market Report Canada is a product of the winning team that created Travel Market Place (TMP), which for over a decade has produced Canada’s leading travel education conferences in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. Next year TMP will expand to Quebec for the first time.

Travel Market Report SVP and Publisher Brian Israel took to the stage during the event to announce that next year will see the launch of Luxury Travel Market Place, set for October 22-24 at the Secrets Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa in the Dominican Republic.